A convicted felon admitted running a long-running real estate investment fraud that raised over $50 million by promising backed notes and a vast property portfolio that did not exist.
Jean Joseph, also known as “Jon,” 55, of Boca Raton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering after authorities say he helped steer a scheme that raised more than $50 million from investors. His co-defendant, Janalie Camille Bingham, also known as Janalie Camille Joseph, 44, previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
Court records show Joseph and Bingham formed Wells Real Estate Investment, LLC around 2017 and worked together, with Bingham listed as CEO. Beginning in about 2019, they hid Joseph’s involvement after he became a convicted felon so he could keep influencing the business despite legal limits.
“These defendants sold the illusion of a $450 million real estate portfolio that simply did not exist,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “Instead of investing $50 million as promised, they diverted millions into speculative trading, paid high commissions to keep money flowing, purchased a luxury home for themselves, and used new investor funds to make Ponzi-style payments to earlier investors. That is fraud, plain and simple. In South Florida, if you build a scheme on deception and misuse of investor funds, you will be investigated and you will be prosecuted.”
Despite beginning a separate prison sentence in June 2020 in an unrelated wire fraud case, Joseph continued to direct parts of the operation from behind bars. In October 2019 the pair opened a bank account in Wells Real Estate’s name with Bingham as sole authorized signer because Joseph faced criminal prosecution, but court documents allege Joseph still controlled transactions while incarcerated.
From roughly 2019 through 2024 the defendants solicited investors to buy promissory notes issued by Wells Real Estate, falsely promising the notes were secured by valuable residential and commercial holdings. In reality, only a sliver of investor money went to actual real estate, and the defendants moved roughly $28 million into speculative equities trading instead of purchases and improvements.
The pair also misrepresented the security behind the notes by claiming a property portfolio worth as much as $450 million, when neither Wells Real Estate nor the defendants owned enough assets to back those claims. They further misled buyers about fees, saying the company did not pay commissions while actually disbursing up to 15 percent, which added up to about $8 million paid to sales personnel.
To sustain cash flow the scheme used funds from newer investors to make more than $8 million in Ponzi-style payments to earlier ones, a tactic that hid the true source of returns. Investigators say the defendants spent over $2 million of investor money on personal expenses, including a down payment on a $1.95 million residence that was later transferred into Bingham’s name.
Bingham’s sentencing is scheduled for May 8, and Joseph’s sentencing is set for June 4 before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors when imposing punishment. The announcement came from U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office, which is leading the investigation.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission previously pursued a civil action against Joseph and Bingham, and prosecutors listed on the criminal matter include Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eli S. Rubin and Roger Cruz, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff handling asset forfeiture.
